I have the chance to pick up a 6' by 16" hackberry log. The guy told me he cut it down in Texas. How many staves would a log this size yield , how long would I need to wait to use the staves and anyone know what a fair price to give the guy?
Thanks for all your help
8 staves and maybe some billets but that depends on the log.
Ideally you want to wait at least a year for the staves to season but you can speed dry one or two to get you going.
You should be able to get 4 out of it pretty easy... I got 7 out of this 9 inch one last year.
(http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r268/Flinthunter_bucket/4EF1F152-E534-4905-933A-7306E70369C9-14149-00001C8255258D2E.jpg)
I market it and cut a 1/2 inch deep cut with my skill saw.
Oh dang I miss read... It's 16 inches.
Find out how the log was treated since it was cut. If it was left outside for any length of time it might be worthless. White woods go bad very quickly if not handled properly.
As far as what it is worth, its hard to say. In my opinion a hackberry stave is worth between 1/2-1/3 of what an osage stave is worth.
Thanks for all your help!